Marketing Guidebook for Small Airports (2010)

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PART I INTRODUCTION TO AIRPORT MARKETING

2CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Overview 1.2 How Airports Use Marketing and Public Relations 1.3 Navigating the Guidebook 1.1 OVERVIEW There is probably no single best way to define marketing. Two definitions that capture the essential elements are listed below: Marketing is the process of planning and executing programs designed to influence the behavior of target audiences—Alan R. Andreasen and Philip Kotler Marketing is the art of identifying and understanding customer needs and creating solutions that deliver satisfaction to the customers, profits to the producers and benefits for the stakeholders—Sean Mauger Whatever definition you choose, airports today must market effectively to attract activity and achieve financial self-sufficiency. If you are managing a general aviation airport, you must let your customers and potential cus- tomers know how the airport excels and why they should visit or base their aircraft at the airport. If you are man- aging a small commercial service airport, you must obtain community support in order to attract and retain the best possible air service. There are many books on marketing, but few that speak directly to airport managers. The purpose of the ACRP Report 28 is to provide managers of general aviation and small commercial service airports with a practical, easy-to-use guidebook for dealing with a wide range of marketing issues. The Guidebook offers a user friendly approach to marketing. • Analyze the situation, set priorities, and make a plan. • Identify the target audience and the message. • Select cost-effective marketing tools. • Monitor your program and make adjustments as necessary. This approach will allow you to use the available resources effectively to your advantage. The Guidebook includes reports on interviews held with airport sponsors, managers, staff, and state aviation officials at over 20 airports to discuss key marketing issues and best practices. Their experiences are described as case studies and examples throughout the Guidebook. For those users who want to apply the methods described, Chapter 13 provides worksheets and instructions to build your own marketing plan. Small airports must cope with increasingly complex marketing issues. Hopefully, the Guidebook will contribute to your on-going efforts to successfully position your airport in the community, with your tenants, and among your competitors.

Introduction 3 1.2 HOW AIRPORTS USE MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS Airport managers use public relations and marketing to communicate with their customers, a diverse group that can include airport sponsors, tenants, airlines, business prospects, and the community. Typically an airport markets for the reasons shown in Exhibit 1.1. Exhibit 1.1—Reasons to Market the Airport.  Attract additional activity or business to the airport  Keep existing tenants  Increase the number of based aircraft & hangars Airport Business  Attract passengers  Solidify existing service  Pursue new air service opportunities Air Service  Rally support for the airport  Inform the community, other stakeholders, and funding agencies Support All airports, regardless of size, engage in marketing on a regular basis. Here are a few examples that demon- strate the range of marketing and public relations activities undertaken by airports: • The airport has applied for a federal grant and has decided to brief its congressional delegation about the proposed project. • The newspaper or radio station has called the airport office for an interview. • An airline has announced intentions to build a new maintenance facility at an airport in the region and the airport seeks to advance its candidacy for site selection. • A few neighbors near the airport have complained about noise or truck traffic. • The airport seeks to attract more passengers for existing air service. • The airport wants local businesses to support a proposed new service. • A large building on the airport is available for lease. Because many small airports are run by a single individual or a small group, the main goal of this Guidebook is to help managers prepare a low cost marketing and public relations plan that targets the intended audiences, establishes a consistent and strong message, and spells out specific activities to communicate the message. Source: KRAMER aerotek, inc.

4 Marketing Guidebook for Small Airports 1.3 NAVIGATING THE GUIDEBOOK The Guidebook is divided into four main sections that address how to put together, manage, and monitor a mar- keting plan (see Exhibit 1.2). • PART 1 includes this introduction and the basics of what goes into a marketing plan. • PART 2 presents seven steps to prepare and implement a marketing plan. • PART 3 describes public relations, advertising, and networking tools that airports can use. Tools are evaluated for cost, effectiveness, and complexity to implement. • PART 4 is a collection of additional resources for airport managers:  worksheets to prepare a marketing plan  case studies of airport marketing programs  a bibliography, glossary, and frequently asked questions This how-to approach invites readers to (a) start at the beginning and read through the entire Guidebook or (b) use the Guidebook as a reference and scan areas of interest. The intention here is to introduce the basic framework and to provide success stories from other airports, tools, and worksheets that will help you construct an effective marketing program. Exhibit 1.2—Guidebook Organization. Source: KRAMER aerotek, inc., March 2009 Part 1 Introduction to Airport Marketing Part 2 Preparation & Execution of a Marketing Plan Part 3 Tools to Implement the Plan Part 4 Additional Resources

5CHAPTER 2 MARKETING PLAN BASICS 2.1 How Greeley-Weld County Airport Crafted Its Marketing Plan 2.2 What Goes into a Marketing Plan? 2.3 Seven Steps to Prepare and Execute a Marketing Plan This chapter presents an overview of how to create a marketing plan. The best plans are usually simple and clear. Simplicity and clarity aid in articulating marketing goals and in delivering your message to the intended audience. Marketing plans are not necessarily expensive. Planning and forethought are the key elements in crafting a plan. This chapter offers the big picture. Part 2 of the Guidebook provides details on each step and Chapter 13 offers a compendium of worksheets intended to provoke thought as you design your plan. We begin with a case study of Greeley-Weld County Airport in Colorado (see Exhibit 2.1). This airport put together a marketing plan with the help of students and the regional economic development agency. The plan provided an excellent starting point and today serves as a guiding document for the airport. Here is their story. 2.1 HOW GREELEY-WELD COUNTY AIRPORT CRAFTED ITS MARKETING PLAN Greeley-Weld County Airport is a general aviation airport with 145,000 annual operations and 220 based air- craft. The airport operates with a small staff and a small annual marketing budget. The airport needed a good public relations and marketing program. Several factors pushed the airport toward the development of a formal marketing plan. First, the airport com- petes for new business with Ft. Collins-Loveland Airport which is 20 miles west of Greeley. Second, Greeley- Weld County is located in a fast growing corridor north of Denver, which means increasing interaction with the local community. Third, on the public relations side, development at the airport also required increased com- munication with the public because the airport was engaged in various runway, fencing, and hangar projects that have a direct impact on tenants, visitors, and the community. The Airport Authority was also negotiating a contract to explore and extract oil and gas from beneath the surface of the airport. In the past, airport marketing was handled principally by the airport manager and the staff as part of their over- all job responsibilities. The airport staff determined that the airport needed outside assistance with marketing and public relations. This assistance, at first, appeared well beyond the airport’s current budget. To move ahead, the airport manager called on existing relationships in the Denver area for assistance. For the economic development plan, the manager contacted the Director of the Upstate Colorado Economic Development Corporation (EDC). The airport and the EDC had already exchanged development and investment leads. For the public information plan, the airport manager turned to the City of Greeley Public Information Office for assis- tance. For the marketing plan, the manager engaged students from the Aviation Department of the Metropolitan State College of Denver (Metro State) and made his marketing plan a special student project. Greeley-Weld County Airport created three strategic documents on a very small budget. The documents today serve as working guides for economic development, public relations activities, and airport marketing. The

6 Marketing Guidebook for Small Airports economic development plan resulted in five goals and a number of objectives which the airport undertook imme- diately. The public information plan was put on the airport’s website and is the first stop for reporters looking for basic information about and photographs of the airport. It also sets out contact information and procedures for regular and emergency communications with the airport. This has saved airport staff considerable time. The marketing plan was completed, which was a goal of the economic development plan. In addition, the airport joined with the community in a rebranding effort. The airport’s approach to recruit help with their documents had important side benefits including strengthening ties with the regional EDC and the City of Greeley as well as giving students at Metro State a real experience putting together a marketing plan. These plans resulted in a directed approach to marketing and public rela- tions. Details of how these documents were developed are described in Chapter 14. Exhibit 2.1—Runway 16/34, Greeley-Weld County Airport. Source: Greeley-Weld County Airport 2.2 WHAT GOES INTO A MARKETING PLAN? A marketing plan addresses the following questions: • What are the marketing goals? • Who are the target audiences? • What is the message the airport intends to communicate? • What methods of communication will the airport use to reach its audience? • What staffing and financial resources will support the effort? • How will the airport measure success? This Guidebook suggests that every airport complete a self-assessment before preparing or refining its mar- keting plan. The airport self-assessment is described in Chapter 4. For more detail on how to complete a full airport strategic plan, which provides the foundation upon which marketing plans and other airport plans are built, see ACRP Report 20: Strategic Planning in the Airport Industry (Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, DC 2009).

Marketing Plan Basics 7 A marketing plan addresses all these questions and typically includes background information to establish the reasoning behind the marketing effort. This is useful because marketing is an on-going effort and typically many people are involved. The marketing plan brings everyone up to speed and serves as a departure point for future efforts. A marketing plan is a blueprint for action and should be reviewed and updated every year. To visualize what might go into an airport’s marketing plan, Exhibit 2.2 shows a sample outline of a plan. Exhibit 2.2—Sample Outline of a Marketing Plan. SITUATION ANALYSIS • What are the airport’s strengths and weaknesses? • What are its main services and who are its users and tenants? • How is recent performance, and what are trends at the airport? • What are market trends in the region (and nation)? • Who is the airport’s competition in each important functional area? • What are the problem areas (internal or external) that might dampen the airport’s prospects? • What are the opportunities? MARKETING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES • Airport’s top marketing goals (three to five) • For each goal  Who is the target audience?  What is the airport’s competitive edge?  What are achievable objectives to address this goal?  What actions will help to achieve the specific objective? ACTION PLAN (CURRENT YEAR) • Specific objectives for current year • Marketing activities to achieve objectives • Sequencing and mix of activities • Staff, other organizations, and volunteer resources required • Budget and funding sources • Management and review Source: KRAMER aerotek, inc. 2.3 SEVEN STEPS TO PREPARE AND EXECUTE A MARKETING PLAN A marketing plan should be viewed in the same light and addressed with the same degree of energy as other important airport plans. Given the many ways to market an airport and the limited resources available, it is essential to have a focus for the marketing plan, that is, to define the goals and objectives, establish the mes- sage, and allocate resources. There are seven basic steps in the creation of a marketing plan. The first five steps are the planning phase of the plan and the last two are the implementation phase of the plan. The steps are shown graphically in Exhibit 2.3 and then described.

8 Marketing Guidebook for Small Airports Exhibit 2.3—Seven Steps to Creating a Marketing Plan. Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Goals/Objectives Redefine Goals/Objectives Audience/Message/Actions Execute Plan Monitor/Evaluate Tools to Reach Audience and Deliver Message SWOT Resources Planning Executing Source: GMH Consulting, LLC 2.3.1 PLANNING PHASE Step 1. Define marketing goals and objectives. What issue is the plan designed to address; for example, attract new air service, increase hangar rental revenues, expand existing facilities? In simple terms, what is the issue you wish to address and what is your “hoped for” outcome? Step 2. Conduct strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis and assess resources. This step will probably require the most thought and input in the creation of the plan. The SWOT analysis requires you to analyze each of these attributes for your airport. In some cases, the dis- tinction between strengths and opportunities will be blurry, as will the identification of weaknesses and threats. Categorization is not important. What is important in the process is to honestly identify the positive aspects (strengths and opportunities) that will aid in accomplishing your goals and objectives as well as the negative factors that must be addressed and overcome. A survey of the resources available to accomplish the goals and objectives (e.g., finances, staffing, etc.) should also be done in conjunction with the SWOT analysis. In many cases, staffing and finances will be included in the SWOT analysis as either a strength or weakness, but resource availability requires specific attention because it influences the scope of the marketing plan and the tools used to reach the target audience.

Step 3. Revise goals and objectives. Based on the material developed from the SWOT analysis and assess- ment of resources, the original goals and objectives should be revisited to ensure that they are realistic and attainable. If not, the goals and objectives should be revised as necessary. Step 4. Identify the target audience, message, and marketing actions required. Based on the information obtained in the previous steps, the basic message, target audience, and actions required must be identified. An example of selecting the target audience comes from Arnold Palmer Airport in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. There, the ultimate objective was to secure air service. At first glance, one might assume the logical target audience was the air carriers. However, to persuade air carriers to provide service, community support (especially from the area businesses) was required. Thus, the target audience, at least initially, was the community. Only after first securing community support did the air carriers become the target audience. In this example, had the airport gone to the air carriers without securing community support, there is a good chance the campaign would have failed. The target audience must be in a position to react to the message and take appropriate action. Step 5. Select tools to deliver the message to the audience. The resources available to you will play a big role in what tools (e.g., use of television, billboards, Internet, etc.) are selected to deliver the message to the target audience. Chapters 10, 11, and 12 describe the many tools available to execute a marketing plan. 2.3.2 IMPLEMENTATION PHASE Step 6. Execute the plan. This phase of the marketing plan is the easiest to understand. After the plan is com- pleted, it needs to be executed, preferably with a single individual firmly in charge and responsible. Step 7. Monitor and evaluate the plan. All marketing plans, no matter how well thought out and executed must be monitored and evaluated to determine if the stated goals and objectives are being met. The monitor- ing and evaluation results might range from directly quantifiable results for some campaigns to anecdotal reports for others. The simple question to be answered is “Are we meeting the goals and objectives we set in our marketing plan?” If not, the plan needs to be modified. Each of these steps is described in greater detail in Parts 2 and 3 of the Guidebook. Marketing Plan Basics 9